Automatic electric generating system



- Oct. 16, 1923. 1,470,948 A. R. VAN HORN AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC GENERATINGSYSTEM Filed May 7, 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A0 REVERSE CURRENT Ill RELAY gAwJQz/w -w,

Oct. 16 1923.

A. R. VAN HORN AUTOMATIC BLEG'I'RIC'GENERATING SYSTEM FiledMay 7, 1919 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 16,1923. v 1,470,948

A. R. VAN HORN AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM Filed May 7, 1919 3Sheets-Sheet s Patented Oct. 16, 1923.

UNITED STATES ALFRED B. VAN HORN, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA; J S. VAN HORN EX- ECUTBIX OF SALD ALFRED R. VAN HORN,DECEASED.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM.

Application filed Kay 7,

- will be completely automatic in its operation so long as the engine issupplied with provide novel means for insuring the start 'o fuel and theoperative conditions are normal; the arrangement and connections of theapparatus being such that an abnormal condition will cause the system,with the ex(eption of the distributing circuit, to automatically shutdown and become inoperative, at the same time putting in operation asignal device which will give an alarm indicatingthe existence of saidabnormal condition. 4

-A further object of my invention is to ing of the engine withoutpossibility of its back firing; the invention contemplating means forautomatically causing a rich fuel mixture being delivered to the enginewhile it is being started, together with a novel device for .insurin theenriching of the fuelwhen and as ong as the engine is at .a lowtemperature.

It is also desired to provide an automatically controll electricnerating system in which the s rting an stopping of the engine and theoperation of a generator shall be dependent on and responsive to V8.-riations inthe specific gravity of the storage battery electrolyte aswell as upon variations in the load on the system and the.

invention includes a novel arrangement of apparatus and connectionswhereby injury to any of the contacts of said apparatus due to arcing isefl'ectually prevented; said arrangement being such as to prevent 1njuryt the system by accidental or mali; of the movable contact 'm'em ciousshifting bersl Anotherobject .Of vide anarrangement of circuitsand'apparatus 'whereby it shall be possible to overhar the'stora battewhenthis'is de-. 0 ge ge ry I and this valve is normally held closedby asirable.

I also desire to provide a system of the character above noted in' whichthe governthe invention is to 1919. Serial No. 295,861.

ing instruments shall be so' connected that. in case any of them develos either electrical'or mechanical faults, t e system will beautomatically operated to its shut down condition; the arrangement beingsuch as to permit such fault to be easily and quickly located.

Another object of the invention is to provide the governing controllerwith such a construction and arrangement of coacting contacts-aswill'efiectually prevent burning of these when they make or break thecircuits of which they form part; said invention contemplating a novelform and mounting for the fingers and drum seginents for attaining thisend.

These objects and other advantageousends I attain as hereinafter setforth,'reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. l is a diagrammatic'view illustrating the apparatus and associatedconnections constituting my system;

Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in section and largely diagrammatic,illustrating an engine cylinder with certain of the apparatus associatedtherewith in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the mo- 7 tor-driven controllerforming part of my invention, illustrating the non-arcing constructionand arrangement of the coacting contact members; a

F ig. 4 is a diagrammatic elevation illustrating the construction of therelays formin part of my invention;

ig. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of the load coiland certain of itsassociated apparatus; and

Fig. 6'is a diagrammatic elevation of the controlling hydrometer withitsassociated parts.

In the above drawings 1 ternalcombustion engine connected in-anysuitable manner to a dynamo electric ma chine 2, so that under certainconditions it may either operatethe same to generate electric current orbe operated by it when it is desirable that said engine "shall/becranked for starting. purposes The cylinder 3 of this-engine is providedwith a valve 4 which may be opened-torelease the compression spring 5operative on its stem. A suitable form of electromagnet such as thesolenoid represents an inv 6 is so mounted, preferably on the cylinder3, that a lever 7 connected to its core 8 will act upon the valve stemto open the valve 4 when said solenoid is properly energized. This samelever carries a screw 9 which may be adjusted to enga the terminal ofthe spark plug 10 or ort circuit the s ark plug gap of the engine so asto groun the spark when the solenoid 6 is energized and the valve 4 is odeenergized, the spring 5 will automatically close the valve 4 and soraise the lever 7 as .vide an electromagnet 11 whose core 12 carries aplate or disc 13 in such mannerthat when said magnet is energized saiddisc is moved into position to close the air inlet of the mixing chamberHof the engine'so that on the succeeding suction stroke a relativelyrich mixture is drawn into said chamber from;

the supply chamber 15. The flow of fuel from this supply chamber 15 tothe chamber is controlled by arunning valve 16 and also by a startingvalve 17, of which the former is provided. with a headed and threadedstem for purposes of adjustment. The valve 17 is connected to the coreof, an electromagnet 18 which when energized will .open it and therebyadmit an increased amount of fuel to the mixing chamber. In order thatsuch increased quantity of fuel shall be dependent upon or governed to agreater or less extent by the temperature of the engine, I connect saidmagnet 18 in a circuit including a pair of contacts 19 and 20extendinginto the tube of a thermometer 21 in such manner that they willbe electrically connected when the mercury has risen to a predeterminedpoint.

On starting the engine, the magnet 18 is I energized as hereafterexplained, so that the valve 17 is opened, and after it has con-- tinnedin operation long enou 'hto be capable of with fuel of the normalrichness, as determined by its temperature, said solenoid is shortcircuited by the action of the thermometer which is so placed as to beafiected by or having the height of its mercury dependent upon; suchengine temperature. Obviously any other suitable form of thermostat maybe mounted on or adjacent the engine so as to cause operation of theelectromagnet and secure the above noted results without departing frommy invention.

' With the above arrangement of parts when the engine is started themagnet 18 is ener supply of fuel admitted 11. When said solenoid isgized and raises its'core so as to open the valve 17 to an extentdetermined byan adjustable screw 22. Excem fuel is thus admitted fromthe chamber 15 by the opening of the valve 17, in addition to theregular b the valve 16, and the engine is thus supplied with a surplusof fuel suflicient to cause it to properly start even though the temrature is low as might be the case in relat-i ely cold climates.

As the engine continues to operate its temperature and that of its.associated parts will gradually rise, thus beating the thermostatprovided by the thermometer 21 until this short circuits the magnet 18,which is thereupon deener and caused to releam its core. The f g of thelatter'closes the valve 17 and thus cuts oi the surplus fuel, althou hthe engine continues to be supplied with 01 through the running valve16. When the engine stops operation and cools, the mercury in'thethermometer 21 will fall sufliciently to break the connection betweenthe contacts 19 and 20 and thus remove the short circuit ,of the magnet18, thereby restoring the various parts to their original relativepositions ready for a repetition of the above described cycle ofoperations.

In addition to the engine 1 and dynamo electric machine 2, my includes astorage battery 23, which in the present instance has its negativeterminal connected to. the negative terminal of said machine while itspositive terminal is connected to one of the line conductors 24 leadingto the apparatus to be supplied with. current. The

system further includes a governing device in the form of a drumcontroller 25-whoae movable element is turned by a small electric motor26. Said element which is usually called the drum, consists of a shaftor spindle 27 turned by the motor 26 and having fixed upon it a'sericsof tal contacts 28- 36, all electrically connected, and as shown.in Fig.3, to electrically coad; with a series of relatively fixedcontact fingers 37-45. A

The motor 26 is its armature and therefore the shaft 27 of thecontroller, must nrily turn'in but one direction only, as indicamd bythe arrow in Fig. '1, and in order to prevent burning of the ,activesurfaces of the segments and fingels I construct these as shown indetailin Fig. 3. Each of the .fingers'of which that shown at 42 is typical,preferably has a substantially T-shaped form and is pivoted to asupporting structurei46 of insulating material so that its long arm.orstem projects at'right angles thereto. For so supporting each finger itis movably connected 'to a base piece 47' by a pivot screw or pin 48 andsaid base ieceinturnisheldinplaceby astud orbo t 49 extending throughthe insulating support 46. This also holds place a plate 50 whereby aspring 51 is retained in a passage extending through the insulatinsupport and bearing upon one of the arms the finger 42 so as to hold itin engagement with the contact segment of the controller with which itcooperates.

Each of the segments such as that shown at 33 is made of a definiteangular length and may have fixed to that one of its ends which isdesigned to first make contact with the cooperatlng fin r 42, a camstructure 52 rigidly held to but insulated from it in any aboveindicated is first engaged by the cam structure 52 so that it is forcedoutwardly to a greater distance from the shaft 27 than that of thecylindrical surface of the segment 33. As the rotation of the shaft 27continues said finger is dropped from its elevated position on the outerend of the cam 52 upon the cylindrical surface of the se mental contact33 and thereafter electricalfy engages it until the spindle 27 has sofar turned as to permit said finger to drop off of its abruptlyterminated end. As a consequence there is no burning of either thefinger or the segment when these are first engaged and the are formed bybreaking the circuit between the finger 42 and said segment is struckbetween the two surfaces 53 and 54. It therefore any burning orroughening occurs from this arcing, it in no way affects the activecontact surfaces formed by the under side of the contact finger or thecylindrical surface of the contact segment so that it is possible tomaintain these in ,the highly polished unoxidized condition t suited forhigh conductivity and mi in m interference with the current flow.oreover by, the arrangement shown the life of the contacts isindefinitely prolonged, since in the absence of the burning or cuttingwhich customarily results from arcing the wear occurring is practicallynegligible.

M ystem further includes two relays A and whose preferred constructionis illustrated in Fig. 4. In thecase of the relay A, there is provided apermanent ma net 55 to one of whose poles is pivoted a epending iron orsteel armature 56 free to move by magnetic attraction toward either oftwo pole pieces 57' and 58 mounted on its second pole: Two fixedcontacts 59' and 60 are so engaged when said armature is attracted tothe pole piece 58.

In constructing the relay, the pole pieces 57 and 58, as well as theyoke 61, are preferably made of soft iron and upon-them are mounted twopairs of coils, of which those indicated at 62 and 64 are connecteddifferentially with respect to a similar pair of coils 63 and 65. Inother words, the coil 62 is so connected to the coil 64 that when acurrent flows in the direction of the arrow the magnetism of one of thepoles, as 57, is increased while that of the other pole 58'is decreased.The two coils 63and 65 are likewise connected but with a resultantreversal of polarity of the two poles with a current flowing in thedirection of the arrow. Obviously it is not absolutely necessary toprovide two coils 0' each of the pole pieces 57 and 58, since tiiedevice can be made to operate with but a single coil and for convenienceof description I have so illustrated the relays A and B in Fig. 1.

With the above described arrangement of parts the armature 56 isincluded in the circuits which include the fixed contact members 59 and60 and said armature engages the contact 60 when the coil 62 isenergized and engages contact 59 when the coil 63 is energized. Therelay B is constructed similarly to the relay A, having a pair of fixeda so-called load responsive device consisting of an electromagnet 71.whose movable element is connected to a movable switch mom ber, 72 inthe manner illustrated in Fig. 5. For this purpose Isuspend a fiatmetallic ribbon 73 from a suitably fixed structure e74; and on thisribbon mount a balance arm 75, on one of whose ends is carried anadjustable weight 76 retained in any desired position by a set screw77.. From the other end of the balance arm is suspend-ed a soft ironplunger 78 constituting the core of the electromagnet 71, which hasextending axially into its interior from its lower end a longitudinallyadjustable element in the form of an iron screwv 79 having a lock nut 80whereby it is retained in any given position and constituting a dampingor limit device for the plunger 78 togovern its downward movement. Theflexible ribbon 73 iscontinued below the balance arm 75 and its lowerend is formed to constitute or carry a contact member 81 which mayengage either of two contacts 82 or 83, depending upon the energizationof the magnet 71. n

The winding of the magnet 71 is designed to be connected in series withthe circuit supplied by the system, and is so designed that when theload on the line increases to a predetermined extent, the core 78 isdrawn down, thus causing the contact 81 to engage the contact 83 andpermitting current to flow through the circuit in which these elementsare included so as to cause starting of the engine as hereafterexplained. On the other hand when the load decreases to a' certainextent the weight 76 causes an upward movement of the core 7 8sufiicient' to bring the contact 81 into engagement with the contact 82,thus completing an- ,other circuit and resulting in stopping oftimes'immersed in and filled with the electrolyte of one of the storagebattery cells 90 so that it rises and falls with changes in the specificgravity of this liquid, Moreover the device possesses the well knownadvantage of automatically compensating for changes in the temperatureof .the electrolyte so that regardless of such changes,-

when the specific gravity of said battery has fallen to thepredetermined point, de-

n on the amount of discharge of battery, the bulb 88 falls, so tiltingthe balance arm 86 that the extension 91 of the ribbon is swung to oneside sufiiciently to bring the contact 92 carried by it into engagementwith the fixed contact 93. On the other hand, when the specific gravityof the electrolyte rises to a predetermined int, as determined by thecharge of the atte the bulb 88 moves upwardl thereby swinging thecontact 92 away cm the contact 93 and into engagement-with asecondcontact 94. As in the case shown in Fig. 5, the swinging contact 92forms part of an electric circuit which includes the suspending ribbon85 and a suitable termi nal connected thereto on. the supporting.

structure 84.

In setting up the hydrometer when the storage battery is firstmstalledthe bulb 88 and open neck 89 are filled with electrolyte of thesame specific vity as the surroundjing electrolyte. The weight 87 isthen moved on balance arin 86 until the movable contact 92 is just outof contact with fixedcontact 94. As shown in the drawings the neck 89 isa relatively 1o 'curved tube of.

force tending to cause circulation between the .electrolyte within andwithout the bulb. Therefore, as the batter dischar s, the electrolytewithin the b b maintains very approximately its original specificgravity and consequently the mass of the ap ratus suspended from theleft hand end (%i of balance arm 86 remains substantially stant.However, as the specific gravity of the electrolyte outside the bulbdecreases during discharge of the battery, the relative mass of the bulband its contents increases and pulls down the left end of arm 86 untilthe battery is discharged to a predetermined extent at which timecontact 92 will close against contact 93.

With re rd to the automatic temperature compensatlon of the hydremeter,it is ap-- parent that the specific avity of the electrolyte both withinan without the bulb will be affected in equal roportions by changes intemperature. bus on an increase of temperature the li uid wit-bin thebulb will expand a very smal amount and a minute quantity of electrolytewill be forced from within the bulb through neck 89 into the exteriorelectrolyte, thus preventing the development of any pressure within thebulb. k Since theoutside electrolyte also ex pands it is obvious thattemperature changes will not produce any movement of the balance arm orcontact 92, so that the hydrometer is automatically compensated forchanges in temperature.

An additional element of my apparatus consists of a reverse currentrelay G which, like the relays A and B, includes a permanent magnetframe 95 having wound upon it coils 96 and 97 connected in series. Thisrelay also includes a swinging contact member 98 designed to be drawninto engagement with the fixed contact 99-when the current flows in onedirection through the coils 96 and 97 and to be moved into engagementwith the second fixed contact 100 whenever the current flows throughsaid coils in an opposite direction. I also employ an alarm 101 whichmay be either of the audible or of the visible type and so connected ashereafter described as to automatically give notice of any-faulty actionof my system, it bein also caused to operate whenever the relay .isoperated by a reversal of the current flow through its coils.

A fuse or equivalent device 102 is connected on the negative side of thesystem immediatelygadjacent the negative terminal of the dynamo electricmachine 2 and has in shunt with it a resistance coil 103 sodesigned'that when for any reason; said fuse blows, suflicient currentmay" jtill 'flow through the resistance to cause operation of thereversecurrent relay- C without operating the dynamo electric machine 2as a motor. Q verysmall diameter, and t ere is but little AS a matter ofconvenience the coils 62, 63,

- a conductor 105 connected both to the con 69 and 70 of the relays Aand B are so wound that when any one of them is supplied'with currentits cooperating movable element 56 or 68 is not attracted but isrepelled. Under normal conditions the armature or movable contact member98 of the relay C is always in engagement with the contact 100 and is soformed and mounted as to be conveniently moved by hand.

Without naming in detail the conductors connecting the various pieces ofapparatus comprising my system, it may be noted that a normally closedswitch 104, is included in tact 59 and to the coil 63 ofthe relay A aswell as to a conductor 106 extending between the contact finger 40 ofthe controller 25, the ignition apparatus 107 of the engine and thecontact 99 of the relay 0. The ignition controlling apparatus 107 of theinternal combustion engine 1 is supplied with current from this sameline 106 through a conductor 108. The shunt field winding 109 of thedynamo electric machine 2 is connected in circuit with the thermostat 21and the magnet 18 and through two bodies. of resistance 110 and 111 withthe conductor 105. The latter of these bodies of resistance however isdesigned to be short circuited when the switch 104 is en aged withcontact 140, although this switsi, under normal conditions, engages thecontact 141. The serieswinding 112 of the dynamo electric machine isconnected between its positive terminal and .the fin r 44 of thecontroller 25.

f it be assumed that the apparatus to be supplied, with current isconnected to the line conductors 24 and 24 and that such current is beindelivered from the storage battery 23 t rough the load coil '71, theengine 1 and dynamo electric machine 2 are idle and the drum of thecontroller 25 occupies such a position that it is. engaged by thefingers 3745 on the line ac-mso that only the segments 29, 30 and 33 arein circuitwith their eooperating fingers 3'8, 39

v and 42.

The switch 104 engages the contact 141, the armature 56 of the relay Ais in engagement with'the contact 59 and it is assumed that the armature72 of the load relay occupies a position disengaged from its coopcratingcontacts 81 and 82, while the arma-i ture' 68 of the relay B is inengagement with the contact 66. It is further assumed that the contact92' of the "hydrometer is disengaged from both of its contacts 93 and 94and thearmature 98 of the relay C engages the contact 100. All of theseconditions will continue unchanged under normal operating conditionsuntil the discharge of'the stora e battery has,conti nued to such anextent tEat the resulting fall of the specific gravity of itselectrolytepermits the bulb 88 to fall sufiiciently to bring the contact92 intocem gagement with the contact 93. A circuit is thus establishedfrom the positive terminal of the storage battery to the contact finger42 of the controller 25, thence through seg-- ments 33 and 29 to finger38, coil 62 of relay A, contacts 93 and 92 of the hydrometer,

contacts 66 and 68 of rela B, contacts 100 and 98 of relay C, contro ermotor 26 and thence to the negative terminal of the storage battery.

Although the resulting flow of current is insufficient to start saidmotor because the a coil 62 is in series with it, the current willenergize the coil 62, -causing the armature 56 of the relay A tb berepelled and engage the contact 60. This completes a circuit from thepositive side of the storage battery to the contact finger 42, segments33 and 29, finger 38, contact 60 of relay A, armature 56, contacts 66and 68 of relay B, contacts 100 and 98 of relay C, motor 26 and to thenegative the finger 37. A circuit is thereupon completed from thepositive side of the storage battery through the drum of the controlleras previously noted, to the finger 37 and thence directly through thecontroller motor 26'to the negative terminal of the battery. This shuntsthe contacts of the relay A and permits the controller motor to operateindependently of them until the revolution of the controller drum bringsthe finger 40 into engagement with the segmental contact- 31,thuscompleting a circuit from the .positive side of the battery to saidfinger 40, through resistances 110 and 111, through the priming coil 18on the engine 1 and the' shunt field winding 109 of the dynamo electricmachine 2, to the negative terminal of the battery 23. A second circuitis' also completed by the contact finger 40 and segment 31 through theignition apparatus 107 of theengine. v

The continued rotation of the controller drum next brings the contact36'into engagement with the finger 45 so that current flows from thepositive side of the storage battery to saidfin r and thence through thecompression re easing coil 6 of the engine, series field coil 112 ofthemachine 2, through the armature of the latter and to the negative sideof the storage battery. Since the field thus energized and its armatureis supplied with current, it is set in operation as a motor, and beingmechanically connected to the engine lpwill crank it.

Since the coil 6 is als a z d, he alve 4 will be held open, thisreleming the comfromthe pression of the engine and at the same time thespark plug will be undezl so that back firing cannot occur. 11themeantime the operation of the controller motor 26 brings the segmentof its drum into engagement with the finger 44, whereupon current flowsfrom the positive side ofthe storage batte to said-finger, directlythrough the series eld 112 and armature of the machine 2 to the negativeside of the storage battery, thus shun the coil 6. As a conuence thislatter is deenerigized and the v ve 4 is automatically close by itsspring 5, while in addition the ground is removed ark plug 10 so thatthe engine, being supl iiied with fuel, should to fire and at once takeup its duty. I

As the controller drum turns further, the contact 34 engages thefinger43, thus permitting current from the itive side of the storagebattery to flow rough said finger to the coil 11 and thence to theground to which the negative side of the storage battery is connected;The core 12 of the magnet 11 is thus raised, causing the valve 13 to cutoi the supply of air to the mixing chamber 14 so that a rich mixture offuel is deliveredto the engine. The rotation of the controller. drumshortly causes the con tact 34 to disengage the fi'nger 43 so that thislatter circuit is broken and by reason of the deenergization of themagnet 11, the valve 13 is allowedto move to its open positionpermitting the engine to operate on its proper fuel supply and operatethe machine as a generator. 7

Current is now supplied .to the line 24-24 and also to the storagebattery, which is charged, the machine 2 now acting as a compound woundgenerator, until by reason of the continued rotation of the controllerdrum, segment 35 is disengaged from finger 44, to open the circuitbetween the series field and the positive side of the battery and thesegment 32 is brought into engagement with the finger 41, thuscompleting a circuit from the positive terminal of the generator 2through the two wind' 97 and 96 of the reverse current relay finger 41,segments 32 and 33, finger 42, to

. the positive side of the storage battery and through thelatter to thenegative terminal of the nerator. lThe series field winding 112 is usshunted by coils 96 and 97 and cut out of circuit by segment 35 so thatsaid generator operates as a shunt wound machine, its shunt fieldcircuit being completed from the positive terminal thereof through thecoils of the relay C to the finger 41,

thence through xgments 32 and 31, finger 40, resistances 110 and 111,electromagnet 18 and shunt field 109 to the negative terminal of thegenerator. The drum of the controller s ill continues to turn under theaction their respective drum segments.

Under these conditions the engine is in operation driving the generator,which is supplying current to the" line and at the same time chargingthe storage battery 23. As said battery, gradually becomes charged, theincreased specific gravity of its electrolyte will cause the bulb 88 torise until the contact 92 engages the contact 94 oi the hydrometerswitch thereb establishing a circuit from the positive side ofthegenerator 2 through the coilsof the reverse current relay 0', controllerfi er 41, se 32 and 31, finger 40, switc 104, coi 63 of relay A,contacts 94 and 92, contacts 66 and 68 of the rela B, contacts 100 and98 of the relay C, t rough the controller motor 26 to the negative sideof the generator.

The resulting current flow is not sufiicient to operate said motor 26but it energizes the coil 63 suflicientl to repel the armature contact56, causing it to electrically engage the fixed contact 59. A circuit isthus -completed from the positive side of the generator through relay C,finger 41, contacts 32 and 31, finger 40, switch 104, contacts .59 and56 of relay A, contacts 66 and 68 of relay B, contacts 109 and 98 ofrelay C,

' motor 26 and t6 the negative side of the gem erator. Said motor isthus again put in operation in the same direction as origi ents nallcausing disengagement of the control er segment 32 from its finger 41and opening the armature circuit of-the generator. The further rotationof the controller drum shortly thereafter causes disengagement of thesegment 31 from the The storage battery is now in a charged:

condition and supplies current to the 24-24, while all of the contactsof theseveral relays etc. are in their original positions, with theexception thatthe hydrometer contacts 92 and 94' are engaged, al.-

though they are separated as the battery discharges or until thebattery/is so far discharged as to'cause operation of the-h drometerswitch, whereupon the above cycle of operations will be repeated.

If when the system is shut down more than a predetermined current shouldbe taken on the line 24-29; the etc ergization of the load coil 71results in its contact 72 being moved into engagement with the contact83, so that current is free v the relay B to be repelled into engagementwith the contact 67, with the result that said relay, as well as thecontacts 81-83 of the load relay are shunted, current from the positiveside of the storage battery passing from the finger 39 through contacts67 and 68 of relay B, contacts 100 and 98 of relay C to the negativeside of the storage battery through the controller motor 26. Saidcontroller motor is thus put in operation and turns the controller drumto cause starting of the engine 1 as heretofore described.

Said engine will thereafter continue to operate until b reason of thereduction of the load on the ine to a predetermined amount the contact81 of the load coil will move into engagement with the fixed contact 82,with the result that a circuit is completed from the positive'side ofthe generator 2 through the coils of the relay C, contact finger 41,segments 32 and 31, finger 40, switch 104, contacts 59 and 56 of relayA, coil of relay B, contacts 82 and 8101? the load relay. contacts 100and 98 of relay C, controller motor 26 and to the negative side of thegenerator. The energization of the coil 70 reels the armature contact 68and by shuntlng out of circuit said coil and the contacts 82 and 81 ofthe load relay, permits sufiicient current to flow to 'the controllermotor 26 to put this in operation. The resulting rotation of thecontroller drum thereupon causes stoppage of the engine and shuttingdownof the system as previously described. a

The relay C is so designed that in case current flows through itscoils'in a direction opposite that occurring when the generator 2 issupplying current, its armature contact 98 'is caused to move intoengagement with the contact 99. When the engine is operating thegenerator and the latter is supplying it! lacl; offuel, faulty ignition,or because of any me hanical trouble, the generator 2 would be at oncesupplied with current from the storage battery and would tend to operateas a motor, a circuit being completed from the posi i e side .o saidbattery to thev finger 42', segments 33 and 32, finger 41, coils 96 and97 of the relay C, armature of the generator 2 and to the negative sideof the battery. As above noted, such a current flow would cause themachine 2 to tend to operate the engine, but the reversal of the currentthrough the coils of the relay C causes its armature contact 98 todisengage the contact 100 and engage the contaxt 99, thus establishing acircuit from the positive side of the storage battery through finger 42,segments 33 and 31, finger 40. contacts 99 and 98 otrelay C andcontroller motor 26 to the negatii e side of the storage battery. Saidcontroller motor now starts and rotates the drum of the controller intosuch a position as will shut down the system as heretofore described.However when said drum comes to rest under these conditions with thecontact fingers engaged along the line arw, one of two circuits isestablished, depending upon whether the engine prior to its failure hadbeen started by the operation of the hydrometer swit'h or whether it hadbeen started by the load relay.

In the former case, the armature contact 56 of the relay A isin'engagement with the contact 60 and the armature contact 68 of I therelay B-is'in engagement with the confault causing the shut down isrectified and the armature 98 of the relay C is operated manually tocause it to engage with the contact 100, whereupon the engine willautomatically start and thereafter operate as previously described. Y

If on the other hand the load coil 71 had operated to start the engineprior to its failure, then the armature contact 68 of the relay B is inengagement with the contact.

67. Under these conditions the circuit is completed through the alarm aslast described with the exception that the current flows through thesegment 30 and controller finger 39.-

If the engine should not be supplied with fuel or in case anythingshould occur which would prevent its starting when itwas cranked asabove described, then when the contact. finger 41 was engaged bythesegment 32 of the controller, the generator 2 would act or tend to actas a motor by reason vof the current supplied from the storage battery.As such current flow however would pass through the coils 96 and 97armature contact 98 of said relay will disengage the contact 100 andmove into engagement with the contact 29. As a result the controllerdrum will continue to revolve until it is engaged by the fingers alongthe line a:a:, which as before described will res ult in the shuttingdown of the system.

Should the engine be blocked or should some accident occur which wouldprevent the armature of the generator rotating, the fuse 102 would blow,causing current to flow through the resistance 103. The latter howeverwould limit the amount of such current to that necessary to operate thereverse current relay C and the controller motor 26 without permittingsuch a current flow as would be necessary to run the generator as amotor. However, as previously described, when the contact finger '41 isengaged by the segment 32, the reverse current through the coils of therelayC will cause the drum to take the position as just de-' scribed.When-the drum of the controller has turned sufiiciently to cause thefinger 41 to engage the segment 32, the reversed. current flow throughthe relay C will so operate the armature contact 98 as to cause it toengage the contact 99, thereby supplying current to the controller motor26. The latter will then operate until the drum is turned to a positionin which the fingers engage it on the line a:a: which causes thebreaking of the circuit between the generator and storage battery, opensthe ignition circuit of the engine, stops the controller motor 26 andcompletes thecircuit through the alarm 101.

The function of the resistances-110 and i 111 is to permit such acurrent flow through the shunt field of the machine 2 as will cause itto generate current at a definite voltage, and the switch 104 isconnected as shown From, the above description it will be noted that mysystemis primarily capable of automatically dealing with any of theaccidents likely to occur under conditions of use and the apparatus isso designed and connected as to prevent injury in the event of -theoccurrence of abnormal conditions. The existence of such conditions isindicated by an alarm and the various pieces of apparatus areautomatically disconnected by the action of the controller The latterwill operate to automatically shut down the system in case the engine isoverloaded,

'when the supply of fuel is exhausted, or

when for any reason the ignition system ceases to properly function.

.If the engine or generator should be blocked or in such condition as tonot be free to'operate properly when the controller would ordinarilystart the dynamo electric.

motor starts and turns the drum through a complete cycle of operationssothat it comes to rest at its starting point (the line H)- withoutresulting in the cranking and subsequent starting of the engine, then itis obvious that some mechanical trouble exists which has caused blowingof-the fuse 102,

so that the discovery and removal of the cause of such action willpermit the system to be started and properly operated when such fuse isreplaced. Obviously any electrical fault with the generator 2 willsimilarly cause blowing of the fuse, in which in order that it shall bepossible toover-case the' resistance 103 limits the current charge thestorage battery 23 if this is desirable. When said switch is engagedwith contact 140 and the generator 2 is charging the battery (thefingers 40, 41 and 42 being engaged with their respective segments), itat the same time preventsstopping of the engine when the specificgravity of the batteryhas reached its predetermined high point byopening the circuit to coil .63 of relay K As a consequence thegenerator will continue to operate and will overcharge the battery untilthe switch 104, which is manually operated, is made to engage contact141 when the engine is caused to .Shllt down. The resistances 111 and110 are arranged to be inserted in series with the shunt field of themachine 2.. When the switch 104 engages the contact 140, resistance 111isshunted, causing a larger current flow through shunt field ofgenerator 2 and raising the voltage of said generator as is necessary toovercharge the battery.

-fiow to that suflicient to permit the controller motor to operate andturn the controller drum to the'position H.

Should any of the relay contacts at any time be maliciously oraccidentally moved from one position to another, this would in no wayinjure the system 'but would merely of the apparatus so that in no casecould the storage battery and generator be so connected as to causeinjury to themselves or to the apparatus with which they are associatedin my system.

One important feature of my invention resides in the provision of theload coil 71 with the fixed core portion 79, which as previouslydescribed extends for an adjustable distance within the same. In theabsence of this fixed core, the movable core or armature 78 wouldoscillate when the current flowing through the coil "was increased by alarge amount, so that the contact 72 would be brought into engagementwith the contact 83 and cause starting of the system when even thoughless than the redetermined load had been applied. With the arrangementshown in Fig. 5 however, a relatively large increase of the load orcurrent flow through the coil, less than that designed to start thesystem, will draw in the movable core 78 for a predetermined distancebut without causing it to .move beyond a definite point or oscillate andas a consequence the contacts 72 and 83 are not brought into engagementuntil the current flow through the coil has actually been increased bythe predetermined amount intended to start the generator 2.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the equipment ofthe hydrometerand loadcontrolled switches with the two relays A and Brespectively, for it will be noted from the foregoing description thatthe closure of either one of these primary switches immediately causesoperation of its relay and a consequent starting of the controller motor26, regardless of whether or not the particular switch which has operated, remains closed. For example, if the hy' drometer balance arm shouldbe manually depressed so that it momentarily occupied a positioncorresponding to a considerable fall in the specific gravity of thebattery electrolyte, a momentary closure of the switch contacts 92-93would at once cause engagement of the relay contacts 56-60, so that eventhough said arm were immediately released, the controller motor 26 isstarted and the controller drum is caused .to pass through its completecycle of operations as above described. The advantage of these relaysresides in the fact that burning or other injury to the contacts of theprimary switches is efi'ectually prevented so that their life anddesigned method of operation are indefinitely prolonged. Similarly therelation of the relays A and B to the controller is such that after thelatter has once armatures remain in their the storage battery to thedynamo electric machine and start the prime mover, means for startingthe controller when the load on the battery is greater than a certainamount, means for stopping the controller and causing the dynamoelectric machine to be driven by the prime mover, means ,forreizedrelay, another switch operated by changes in the load on the system foroperstarting thecontroller when the battery is ating the other polarizedrelay,a switch operated by the latter polarized relay to atfect thereverse current relay, and means for intermittently moving the saidcontroller and sequentially bringing the dynamo electric machine and theprime mover into operative relation with the storagev battery for thepurpose specified.

3. In a system of the character described, a prime mover, a dynamoelectric machine, a

storage battery, a controller, two double-acting electro-magnets,areverse current relay,

a load relay, a hydrometer switch, connections between the switch andone of the electro-magnets for starting the controller when the specificgravity of the battery, falls below a given point and for starting thecontroller when the specific. gravity reaches a predetermined point,means of connection between the load relay and the other electro-magnetfor starting the controller when the demand for current exceeds a givenamount-orfalls below a given amount, and means of connection between thereverse current relay and the load relay and its electromagnet and thecontroller and the dynamo electric machine for controlling the startingand stopping of the controller and the dynamo electric machine.

4. In azsystem of the character described. a storage battery, a loadcoil normally con-* nected in a Work circuit with the storage battery, areverse current relay, a motor driven controller, a prime mover, adynamo electric machine, two 'electro-magnets, means con-- trolled bythe condition of the charge in the storage battery for throwin thecont-rollerand the reverse current re ay in circuit with one of theelectro-magnets, means for shunting the said electro-magnet, means forshunting the said relay, a shunt field resistance, means for bringlngthe shunt field resistance into circuit, means for causing the dynamo torun as a motor and start the prime mover, a priming coil thrown intocircuit with the starting of the prime mover, means for stopping thecontroller, means for starting the controller and stopping the en ginewhen the battery charge reaches a predetermined condition, and means forstoping the controller in its original position with the load coil andbattery in circuit and the controller, electro-magnet and relay out ofcircuit.

5. A controlling apparatus for a system of the character described,comprising a motor-driven controller, a load coil, a reverse currentrelay, two electro-magnets,a hydrometer switch, means of connectionbetween the load coil and one of the electro-magnets for starting thecontroller motor, means of connection between the hydrometer switch andthe other electro-magnet for startihg the controller motor, and means ofconnection between the reverse current relay and the controller, saidapparatus being adapted to be used in connection with the dynamoelectric machine, prime mover and the storage. battery.

6. The combination in an electric generating system of a storagebattery; a dynamo electric machine; an internal combustric generatingsystem of a storage battery; a dynamo electric machine; a prime moverfor operating said machine; a controller for governing the operation ofthe system; a motor for driving said controller; a circuit controllingdevice in series with said machine and with said motor; and a body ofresistance in shunt with said device for limiting the current flow to anamount sufficient to operate the motor after said device has opened itscircuit.

8. The combination in an automatic electric generating system of astorage battery; a dynamo electric machine; a prime mover for operatingsaid machine; a controller for overning the operation of the system; amotor for driving said controller,'a reverse current relay controllingsaid motor; a circuit controlling device in series with said machine andwith said motor; and a body of resistance in shunt with said device forlimiting the current flow to an amount sutiicient to operate the relaywithout operating the machine after said device has opened its circuit.

9. In a system of the character described, a storage battery, a dynamoelectric machine, a prime mover, a motor-driven controller, a load coilin series with the battery, an electro-magnet switch controlled by theload coil for starting the controller motor, a hydrometer switchresponsive to the condition "of the battery, an electro-magnetic switchoperated by said latter switch for starting the controller motor, and areverse current relay switchhaving contacts connected to the load coilswitch, to the conti'olle'r 'and to the dynamo electric machinefOILEQ-Stfiltlfig and stopping the controller motor.

In witness whereof I afiix my signature.

ALFRED R. VAN HORN.

